THE

OCIALIST

S M agazine of the Socialist Party USA M ay-June 2005 Volum e 31, Num ber 2 $1.00

INSIDE: TACO BELL BOYCOTT VICTORY * VERM ONT

SAYS BRING OUR TROOPS HOM E!* OPPOSING

M ILITARY RECRUITM ENT * LG BTQ ACTIVISM * LOCAL

REPORTS * POETRY * AND M ORE!

THE T HE SOCIALIST Editorial Staff SOCIALIST Editor/Layout M ay-June 2005 Volum e 31, Num ber 2 G reg Pason

Editorial Board M AY DAY 2005 M ark Alper M ichael Baker The M ay Day issue of The Socialist was produced by the National

M ary Loritz Secretary and National Office Volunteers.

Jam es M arra Tina Phillips Steve Rossignol TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 TACO BELL BOYCOTT VICTORY Contact the SP USA By Steve Sears Socialist Party USA 339 Lafayette St. # 303 4 OPPOSING M ILITARY RECRUITM ENT W HEREVER IT IS New York, NY 10012 By Tom Keenan Phone/Fax: (212) 982-4586 5 FROM SDS TO NCOR: SOCIALISM , ANARCHISM AND NatSec@ sp-usa.org www.sp-usa.org BERNARDINE DOHRN By Tom Good Subm issions 7 IW W CENTENNIAL: 1905 – 2005 Send all correspondence to: By Harry Siitonen The Socialist c/o 339 Lafayette St. # 303 8 W HY A SOCIALIST PARTY Q UEER COM M ISSION?

New York, NY 10012 By Steven Donahue

9 ARTS & CULTURE A rticles m ay be subm itted in p rint or on IBM -com patible By the SP USA Arts & Culture Commission disk, or by e-m ail to 10 VERM ONT SAYS BRING OUR TROOPS HOM E! na tsec@ sp-usa.org. The views By ex pressed herein are those of he authors and do not 13 FAITH & SOCIALISM ne cessarily reflect those of the By Antonio Salas Ed itorial Board of The Socialist 14 NEW S FROM SP USA LOCALS or the Socialist Party USA. 15 SOCIALIST PARTY USA DIRECTORY Subscription Rates 1 year individual $10 1 year institution $25 From the Socialist Party USA Statem ent of Principles

C over Art: Photo of striking The Socialist Party strives to establish a radical democracy that places C .I.W . worker by Steve Sears people’s lives under their own control; where working people own and control the means of production through democratically elected bodies; where full employment is realized for everyone who wants to work; where workers have the right to form unions freely, and to strike and engage in other forms of job actions; and where the production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few. We believe socialism and democracy are one and indivisible.

2 and receive no overtime. If they refuse to work late, they T ACO BELL BOYCOTT VICTORY! will find no work in the future. They have no right to organize, no benefits, no pension and no sick leave.

There use to be beatings in the field, but that ended By Steve Sears after 600 CIW members marched to a crew leader’s house after he beat a worker for drinking water. When On April 1st 2001, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers they informed the community that if you beat one of us, (CIW) announced a boycott of Taco Bell after almost a you beat all of us, crew leaders listened and there has ye ar of requesting their assistance in improving wages not been a single incident since. Greg Asbed, lead an d working conditions in the Tomato fields of South organizer for the CIW told me they still have that Florida. As we stood around that Orlando Taco Bell after worker’s bloody shirt so all workers will remember. the announcement, we all knew we would see victory, The Taco Bell boycott has gained tremendous student, bu t no one could guess when. The when turned out to religious, labor, and community support in the years be almost four years later in Louisville, Kentucky on since its inception, including the establishment of March 8, 2005. Lucas Benitez, co-founder of the CIW, boycott committees in nearly all 50 states and a fast- announced the end of the boycott at a press conference growing movement to "Boot the Bell" from college and at YUM! Brands headquarters. YUM! Brands is the high school campuses across the country. By the end of lar gest restaurant corporation in the world and the the boycott, 22 campuses had “Booted the Bell” costing parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, A&W, and untold amounts of money and negative publicity for Long John Silvers. After four years of education and Taco Bell. In 2003 one of the largest hunger strikes in actions around the country, Taco Bell had finally agreed labor history took place at the Taco Bell HQ in Irvine, th at they are responsible for the conditions and the pay CA. Seventy-Five farmworkers and students fasted for in the fields of South Florida. 10 days, galvanizing support from around the country. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is a community- During this whole time, the CIW asked Taco Bell based worker organization. Its members are largely Executive’s one question “Can Taco Bell guarantees its La tino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working customers that the tomatoes in its tacos were not picked in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. The by forced labor?” The answer was silence. The 2004 CIW was formed in 1993 to work on improving the Truth Tour visited both YUM! Brands HQ in Louisville, community and the lives of farmworkers. In just a few KY and Taco Bell HQ in Irvine, CA and featured marches sh ort years, the CIW was able to organize three general and actions across the country. str ikes and a 30 day hunger strike by six workers.

Th ese actions brought about an end to the declining wa ges and brought industry-wide raises of 13-25%. But this only resulted in bringing wages back to pre-1980 wa ges and a yearly average of only $7500, well below th e poverty line. W hile continuing to organize for fairer wages, they also turned their attention to attacking involuntary se rvitude in Florida. From 1998 to the present, the CIW ha s helped free over 1200 workers from five slavery rin gs operating in the fields of South Florida. The latest case came in November of 2002 when three crew leaders fro m Lake Placid, Florida were convicted of forcing 700 wo rkers into slave labor in Florida's citrus groves. They we re sentenced in May, 2004, to a total of 31 years and nine months in federal prison, and were ordered to for feit $3 million in proceeds from their immigrant sm uggling operation. In 2003, three members of the CI W became the first U.S. based human rights defenders to be awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human photo by Steve Sears Rights Award. F armworkers in Immokalee earn about $.40 -.45 per The CIW organizing model is simple: educate and 32 -35 LB bucket of tomatoes picked. This means that activate. They spend most of their time talking to college th ey must pick and haul two tons (125 buckets) just to students and church members about the conditions earn $50. Many days, workers walk home with much they live in daily. They have formed alliances with major less. Arising at 4am, they gather downtown where the religious organizations such as the National Council of bu ses will pick them up. They arrive not knowing if they Churches, the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian wi ll be able to find work or not. If luck is with them, Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Chirst, Pax Chirsti th ey will board a bus or truck and spend sometimes up USA and others. They are endorsed by Labor Unions, to 2 or more hours driving to the fields. They are not Student and Global Justice groups as well as pa id for the drive. Once they arrive, they may have to individuals such as Noam Chomsky, Kerry Kennedy, wa it for the dew to dry or even loose the entire day if the Tom Morello, Eric Schlosser, and many others. we ather goes bad. They work as long as they are told Continued on page 4

3 O PPOSING M ILITARY RECRUITM ENT, W HEREVER IT IS

By Tom Kennan The increased intensity by recruiters and other Ed . Note: Tom Keenan is a student at William Paterson representatives of the state to silence and neutralize us Un iversity (WPU) in Wayne New Jersey, who was recently is a sign that what we’re doing is working, and what arr ested for “trespassing” for leafleting against military they’re doing is rapidly falling apart. They cannot wage a recruiters at his school. Tom’s case came two days after the war without support abroad AND without support at So cialist Party of New Jersey and North Jersey Anti-Racist home. These are drastic times, and increased measures Ac tion helped organize an anti-recruitment teach-in at the must be taken to show the dissenting public’s sch ool. Tom’s case spun into a student movement at WPU commitment to ending American Imperialism and built solidarity among students and community activists in the Paterson/Wayne area. Tom Keenan is a member of North Jersey Anti-Racist

Th e military ceases to effectively present itself as a tool Action. www.anti-racist.org of defending people, and keeping peace. Instead it ou tright parades itself as a delivery system for American Bu sinesses into foreign economies. Therefore, those that TACO BELL BOYCOTT VICTORY recruit are finding it harder and harder to make the role of soldier very attractive. They can’t very well tell them Continued from page 3 th e truth: that they’ll be asked to kill and die in the int erest of Globalization, Racism, Capitalism, and the Their demands on the industry are very simple and have expansion of American Imperial Power. So they dress it not changed since their first letter to Taco Bell: up the best they can. One popular way to appeal to po tential recruits is to tell them about how they can 1. Pay one penny more per pound of tomatoes pu rsue their current interests, just in the military. I’m and ensure this penny is passed to talking about attracting musicians to come play in the farmworkers, Ma rine Corps Band, nurses to join as medical aid, 2. Arrange three way talks between the fast jou rnalists to work in propaganda, etc. Unfortunately for food industry, the growers and the CIW. th ose who fall for this, the job you enlist to do is not 3. Change their Supplier Code of Conduct to guaranteed as the job you will end up doing. Drummers include language on indentured servitude en list to play music and end up driving tanks. And this and stronger enforcement policy. is compounded when said drummer finds out that th ough his enlisted time is up, he is being retained All three of these demands were met by YUM! Brands ind efinitely by the military body he enlisted with. So and Taco Bell. In addition, YUM! agreed to work with the when someone asks me what I was doing protesting the CIW to pass legislation in Florida in improve conditions mi litary recruiters at a career fair for nursing students, I in the fields. YUM! also agreed to work with the CIW in rem ind them of that fact. convincing the rest of the fast food industry. Another I can’t go into the details of the events that led up to part of the agreement establishes a process for my arrest, because they have been touched on in media farmworkers to file complaints, which would be so urces and because the case is still pending. I do want investigated by Yum! and the coalition. If companies to touch on why it is a necessity to oppose military violated policies, Taco Bell would stop doing business rec ruitment in all its forms, with all its promises and with them. The agreement represents an immediate wage lies, in every medium it pokes its large and ugly, carpet increase for workers who have had stagnant wages for bo mbing head. There is no benign recruitment, because more than 25 years. it all contributes to that machine. Whether you’re a What’s next for the CIW? Their anti-slavery work will rif leman, sniper, drummer or photographer, you have continue with the help of the many student and religious become part of that delivery system; that corrupted groups who have supported them over the years. The bo dy. So as those who oppose militarism and its means campaign for Fair Food not Fast Food will also continue of continuation, military recruitment, we are obligated to with new details to be released soon. When I spoke to co nfront and protest it in all its forms. At every job fair, members on the way home from Louisville, no one could at every high school, at every mall and recruiting station, tell me exactly where this campaign will go next. But, I we have to make our presence known. was continuously told that the next target would be “an W ith my arrest and the following brutality/charges industry leader who would help move others.” Take that ag ainst students at City College of New York, for however you wish, but may I suggest if you like Big pr otesting military recruitment at their university job Mac’s, you may want to get one soon. fair, it’s becoming clear that to oppose recruiters is They have created a model based on the IWW of old be coming dangerous. The military is nervous; they and used it to bring down a giant of the fast food aren’t meeting their quotas of bodies. So how do we industry. respond? More people, more attention, more action. Steve Sears is currently the Chairperson of the Socialist

Party of Florida.

4 could be replicated on a much larger scale. The workshop was a very big draw, much to the surprise of the F rom SDS to NCOR: presenters. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, my comrade Sam and I listened as the basic arguments of the YDS S ocialism , Anarchism and folks were laid out. Unfortunately the focus appeared to be on the issue of whether the State was essential to the Bernardine Dohrn continuation of various basic services (such as sewage disposal, etc). This narrow focus caused some restlessness within the audience, largely young and anarchist. It also By Thomas Good was revealing in the sense that the YDS presenters appeared to be unable to conceptualize a social order born Growing up during the Sixties and early Seventies I was of a revolutionary change rather than a series of an admirer of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). incremental reforms. More significant was the fact that by Pa rticipatory democracy as an internal structure for a zeroing in on anti-statist versus social democratic political organization and as a model for deepening viewpoints no dialogue on practical matters occurred. de mocracy in the United States had tremendous appeal. De spite being a few years too young to participate in SDS I no netheless felt a part of the Movement and a personal regard for Bernardine Dohrn: "La Pasionara of the Lunatic Le ft" as she was called by J. Edgar Hoover. She was att ractive, flamboyant and brilliant as the spokesperson for the resistance. I was impressed with her revolutionary fer vor and, being an adolescent, smitten as well. However, SDS fractured in 1969 and in 1970 the lea dership (the Weatherman faction) went underground to pu rsue Armed Propaganda as a means of conveying their rev olutionary message. When Vietnam ended in 1975 the Weather Underground Organization (WUO) lost a lot of th eir impetus and the peace movement itself seemed to gri nd to a halt. Many activists, myself included, joined so cialist organizations in order to continue the struggle. Although The War had ended, the Empire was not dis mantled and it used various lethal methods to continue Bernardine Dohrn at NCOR photo by Tom Good St ate policy by other means. It had to be resisted, even with our depleted numbers. This issue was raised as an obviously heartfelt plea by a young anarchist sister who complained of being tired of A fter the seizure of power by the Bush forces in 2000 and the flagrant violation of international law embodied in rehashing the same old divisive arguments and who clearly th e invasion and annexation of Iraq, the Old Left, many wanted to know how the Left could work together. I spoke Ne w Leftists and the Anarchist Resistance took to the at this point suggesting that the SP was very eager to hear what our friends in the anarchist community had to say str eets. In my own experience, as we all sat together in jail, during the 2004 Republican National Convention, and that we are extremely interested in working together. I so lidarity was very evident. In the grime of Pier 57 sat 70 did not expect much in the way of response, but to my ye ar old Quakers, middle-aged New Leftists, Old Left surprise the response was very positive and several anarchist brothers and sisters requested the url of our so cialists, and large numbers of young anarchists. In this climate I witnessed the beginnings of a dialogue between website. th e old and new guard. Sunday morning, after some tabling and conversation with other activists Sam and I located the lecture room NC OR where Bernardine was speaking. We got there early (for once) and secured seats in the second row. Since 1998, American University in Washington, D.C. Continued on page 6 ha s been the site of the National Conference on Organized

Re sistance (NCOR), an event designed to "provide a space for activists to meet each other, have in-depth discussions, an alyze our strategies, tactics, beliefs, learn a few new sk ills, and give everyone a lot to think about". Yours In The Struggle M yself and one other member of Socialist Party USA And In The Streets. May which journeyed to the 2005 National Conference on Day Greetings From The Or ganized Resistance (NCOR). We intended to table there as a means of building our upcoming direct actions. {2} Direct Action Tendency Bu t we were also keenly interested in attending a workshop entitled: "Comparing Radical Traditions: A www.actiontendency.net

Democratic Socialist-Anarchist Dialogue. The workshop wa s being led by Lucas Shapiro, a Young Democratic So cialists leader with an impressive resume. I was personally hopeful that the dialogue I witnessed at Pier 57

5 that Black vets in particular had allot to offer in terms of B ERNARDINE DOHRN educating those youth who might be lured into military Co ntinued from page 5 service. Turning to alternative models of development in the Bernardine was introduced as a former SDS/WUO world, Dohrn spoke about Venezuela as a counterpoint to lea der, a professor of law at Northwestern University and US cultural hegemony. In Venezuela she pointed out a ch ild's rights activist, a mother of three and lastly, a "Democratic, Peaceful, Bolivarian, Revolutionary" gra ndmother - at which point she smiled and raised both government is feeding the people and providing fists in the air in celebration. She began her talk with some healthcare, thanks to the presence of Cuban doctors. obviously sincere praise for the activists in the room: Noting that we must all struggle together towards this "Y ou're doing great! We are hoping to join you (in the and other anti-imperialist, anti-consumerist models of str uggle)". "We are living with a permanent war...and development Dohrn stated that "under one big tent" is a...national security state. How do we go towards building how we must carry the struggle forward. We must a radical movement?", she asked. "Today the US spends as remember that "the Black freedom movement" is the mu ch (on the military) as all of the other countries of the cornerstone of our struggle, she insisted. She noted that wo rld combined. Why? There are three reasons: to control "we need three things: organizing, activism and th e world's resources; to police unfriendly or terrorist education". All three must be present for us to be regimes (and); to dominate markets". effective she added. D ohrn spoke about the World Social Forum where the Concluding her remarks, Bernardine emphasized that ide a that the US and it's ideology of consumerism, its the young are the hope and expressed gratitude that the be lief that "this is the only game in town, that this is the Sixties generation might be allowed to play a role in the dominant ideology" was effectively challenged. She urged struggle by "riding on your coattails". Dohrn mentioned a th e activists present to reject this ideology and to work to tidal wave of change that will yet bring about a better ov ercome the geographic illiteracy that afflicts all world. She leaned forward and said: "You're part of that Am ericans, and to overcome the memory loss this illiteracy tidal wave, I thank you!" facilitates: "We have a kind of amnesia about the rest of th e world". Dohrn put a question to the audience: "Can Conclusion you name the six nations that border Iraq?" No one activist Journeying home, Sam and I discussed our upcoming could do it but working together the audience was able to direct actions and also the need to continue the dialogue name these countries. Dohrn saluted this...and spoke between socialists and anarchists. Thinking about ab out the Iraq invasion: "This incredible, illegal, immoral Bernardine's advice on the subject we made a note to wa r in Iraq (has produced) over 1100 US dead". Returning incorporate equal parts humanism and humor in our to US amnesia and ignorance of other cultures Dohrn organizing and to remember to thank our young spoke about the fact that the Vietnam and Iraq wars, anarchist brothers and sisters for allowing us to be a part de spite many differences, "in some ways are eerily similar". of the struggle for their future. Bo th nations are "countries with an ancient civilization". Ira q she added, "is the cradle of civilization", a fact Thomas Good is a member of the Socialist Party of New completely devalued and ignored by the US. This myopia York City and edits Electronic Worker where this article ha s lethal consequences: "the bombing and devastation in originally appeared. www.electronicworker.net/ Fa llujah is the Guernica of our time", Dohrn said. This ca nnot stand, she argued, urging a redefinition of 'te rrorism' from a "humanist" point of view: Terrorism is systemic violence against civilians." Further stripping away an y mystification, Dohrn noted that, from the US point of vie w: "Terrorism means any opposition to the US SOCIALIST PARTY go vernment." Turning to what is going on internationally; Bernardine no ted that the unlawful detention of political prisoners of OF Ar ab descent in the US has produced "show trials of Arabs (w hich) have produced nothing". Yet no one here speaks up, none question these arrests either in the US or in the CALIFORNIA "lit tle puppy dog of the United States, England". "We ne ed to know what is happening in Mosul, in San Qu ention, Attica..." she intoned. She spoke about str uggling to free political prisoners who had challenged US ideology and been jailed for it. She spoke of the plight Agitate! of all political prisoners and prisoners of (class) war here in th e US who have been "excluded, marginalized". "In prison Educate! we have the modern day equivalent of slavery", she noted. She urged intensifying efforts to free some prominent po litical prisoners like Leonard Peltier and David Gilbert. Organize! S peaking about the need for unity and reconciliation wi thin the Left, Dohrn pointed out that one glaring failure of the Sixties was the ostracizing of veterans. She noted

6

Industrial W orkers of the W orld

IW W Cente nnial: 1905 - 2005

By Harry Siitonen “The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as Frequently, when someone sees one of us wearing an hunger and want are found among millions of working IW W t-shirt or a button at a demo or picket line, the people and the few, who make up the employing class, question invariably pops up: “What, are you guys still have all the good things of life. Between these two around?” But we’re here to tell you, we never left. We’re classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the th ce lebrating our 100 birthday this year and are world organize as a class, take possession of the means of org anizing workers with good, recent successes. But production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony mo re on that later. Let’s go back to the very beginning. with the earth. .. Instead of the conservative motto, ‘A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work’, we must inscribe on our BE GINNINGS banner the revolutionary watchword, ‘Abolition of the

wage system’.” Near the turn of the 20th Century, there was co nsiderable dissension among workers over the narrow While some mistakenly consider the IWW as cra ft orientation and exclusivity of the American anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist, it’s more inclusive than Fe deration of Labor, with the bulk of the American that. It espouses revolutionary , and working class left unorganized. So in June of 1905, a poses no ideological litmus tests, as long as one is a wage ga thering of about two hundred socialists, anarchists, or salaried worker, and is not an employer of wage labor. an d radical unionists from all over America held a The emphasis is on democratic rank and file unionism, co nvention in Chicago, at which the Industrial Workers instead of a hierarchy of union bureaucrats running the of the World was organized. The theme was industrial show. un ionism, where all workers would be organized in Since the beginning, women, immigrants, and people of so lidarity in , irrespective of race, color, color were welcomed and many have been prominent in eth ni- city or gender. Its founders included Big Bill the organizing. People like Carlo Tresca, , and Haywood of the Western Federation of Miners, Daniel De Mary Jones were among those immigrant activists.

Leon, Eugene V. Debs, , Mary Harris “M other” Jones” and many others. Its current Preamble Continued on page 11 ha s the spirit if not the letter of the original:

“ It is the duty of the IW W to oppose w ar at any and all

c ost. If w e fight, let us fight for freedom .”

Frank Little, April 16, 1917 W obbly O rganizer and Agitator

Lynched by the Copper Trust August 1, 1917

“W E NEVER FORG ET”

Tom M ooney Local

W estern M assachusetts

7 JUNE IS LG BTQ PRIDE M ONTH

W HY A SOCIALIST PARTY Q UEER COM M ISSION? B y Steve Donahue LG BT G ROUPS M AKING THE LINKS “T he Socialist Party stands for the abolition of every for m of domination and exploitation…” BETW EEN Q UEER RIG HTS & SOCIAL SPUSA Platform & ECONOM IC JUSTICE T here are many groups that fight for the civil rights of LGBT people. The National Gay Lesbian Task Force for There are som e non-m ainstream LG BT groups that are example is, “the movement's leading voice for freedom, m aking the links between Q ueer activism and other justice, and equality.” Another group, the Human Rights social justice issues. W hile the m ainstream m edia Ca mpaign does much the same albeit in a much better funded, politically connected and corporate style. For won’t prom ote them The Socialist will: ex ample the HRC just announced that, “Citigroup, the wo rld’s largest financial institution, has become a Audre Lorde Project www.alp.org pla tinum level sponsor of HRC’s mission of securing equal Q ueers for Palestine www.quitpalestine.org rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Q ueers For Peace & Justice www.Q ueerJustice.org Americans.” There are also Log Cabin Republicans who Q ueer Insurrection (San Francisco) www.lagai.org cla im to fight for LGBT rights and are also fighting hard Southerners On New G round www.southnewground.org rig ht now to privatize Social Security. Groups like these are struggling for LGBT people to be Q ueeruption www.queeruption.org ac cepted into mainstream society. The problem however is FIERCE www.fiercenyc.org th at most of these same groups fail to critique mainstream Pride At W ork www.prideatwork.org so ciety. To be frank, many of the appointed leaders and sp okes persons in the movement for LGBT rights are really quite reactionary. W e encourage people reading this to join the Socialist O ne might wonder if the mainstream LGBT movement is Party USA and Young Peoples Socialist League, their no t working overtime to be incorporated with a hearty Q ueer C om m issions and link up with others working to ha ndshake into the capitalist USA oppressors’ club. link Q ueer rights and social and econom ic justice. Indeed many of our LGBT gate keepers are solidly rooted th ere already. The mainstream movement has contributed to forms of oppression linked to gender identity and ap pearance “lookism”. All this is to be expected from a movement that over time has hooked itself up with the M AY DAY G REETING S FROM THE po wer politics of capitalism and the Democratic and Re publican parties SOCIALIST PARTY OF NEW JERSEY W e need a more integral analysis and praxis if the movement for LGBT rights and dignity is to be something go od for everybody. The Queer Commission of the Socialist Pa rty-USA (Queer includes all who want to identify: les bian, transgender, genderfuck, bisexual, gay…) invites all caring people to join us in abolishing every form of domination and exploitation. W W W .NJSOCIALISTPARTY.ORG T he SPUSA Queer Commission is engaged with all who ar e fighting against anti queer legislation, hate and vio lence. We ask all socialists to stand with us in this struggle. The SPUSA Queer Commission likewise serves th e movement for LGBT rights by actively supporting all 2005 SOCIALIST PARTY USA eff orts for real liberation, like liberation from economic NATIONAL CONVENTION ex ploitation and the rule of capital, from militarism and imperialism, or from racist ideology and white skin October 21-23, 2005 pr ivilege. This list can be much longer but why not co nclude on a positive note by simply saying that the G ateway Hilton, Newark NJ Qu eer Commission of the Socialist Party USA will continue to work for a democratic non authoritarian socialist society For inform ation check out: even as it joins with queers of all stripes in fighting for real http://www.sp-usa.org/2005convention/ liv e queer liberation not assimilation. Love who you want an d how you want. Just love. See you there! Ste ve Donahue is Chair of the Queer Commission and ac tive in the SW Pennsylvania Socialist Party.

8

ARTS & CULTURE

Reflectio ns on Ancestors: Rem em bering A View from the Barrios Ossie Davis, Jam es Form an, Shirley Chisholm © Carlos Raul Dufflar Ron M ilner and Others Recently Returned

I used to see the Tower of Power, By the SP USA Arts and Culture Commission n ot far from the tenements and projects, i n the heart of the Barrios, The loss of Ossie Davis has been a deep, indescribable As the voices of María, Julio, Ramón, Rosendo loss to the Freedom Movement. The Giant left behind a w orked from sunrise to sunset. long life of contributions to the struggle, tirelessly T hey never went late to work seeking justice. For over five decades, his partner in the T hey never missed a day in their life struggle has been his wife and rock, Ruby Dee. Even at T hey never spoke bad against their greedy bosses the end of his time on the planet, he remained active And were always paid less than everybody else and ready to do what had to be done. B ecause greed was the heart of the bosses’ love His funeral at Riverside Church in Harlem, NYC, bore H is stamp of approval was always witness to great sadness and great joy that this great “ Hey, I don’t make profit here Comrade-in-Arts brought to generations of Blacks I don’t make money asserting self-determination, and the world community I ’m just getting by” of artists asserting cultural freedom. He was saluted in S o he said words, song and drumming by Harry Belafonte, Maya B ut on this early morning Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Wynton Marsalis and others. On September, Sadly, Davis was only the latest of many lights W hen the birds will not sing recently lost to us. Only shortly before we mourned the A beautiful love song to you and me passing of Dr. James Forman, scholar, activist and chief T he thunder of the dragon entered the tower of the theoretician of the SNCC. mighty At the dawn of 2005, we saw pass Shirley Chisholm. W hose great badge of merit is The achievements of SNCC and other movements for N ot being kind to a fellow human being Black human rights preceded her famous 1972 run for A nd cruelty is his great honor the Democratic presidential nomination. She was the I n the name of misinjustice to the working class first Black woman to seek the nomination of a major How many lives hang in the balance party for the office. M ust we sing a new song again? The year 2004 saw us mourning the losses of two E ven for those people whose hearts were never cultural revolutionaries: Ron Milner of Detroit and t ouched Reverendo Pedro Pietri of the Barrios of New York. Milner Whose faces we never seen was one of the most important Black play-wrights of the A ll life is precious 20th century. Pietri was a poet and playwright who K eep the incense burning captured the Borincano (Puerto Rican) experience. F or the leaves are aging And to speak of culture, we need to return to Davis, For each one has a story to tell before each one and continue the fight that he fought, that he continued R eturns back to the earth to fight to the very end. We only need to know and T o Raimunda, my mother, to Carlos, my father understand his example, and that of Chisholm, of T o my great-grandmother, to my great-grandfather Forman, of Milner, of Pietri, of Louis Robichaud, of I n our lives Richie Pérez. We must never forget Inéz, Cholo, Ramón, Carmen, Of so many others. Like all the other icons who have C hino, left us, such as Julia De Burgos (poetic voice of the P edro Carlos, Eduardo, El Brasilero, Leocadia, working class and Puerto Rican experience), Bernardo A nd all who made the Heart of El Barrio Vega (great working class interpreter of Puerto Rican and As proud members of La Clase Obrera Cuban history and of its tobacco workers’ experience) W ith a gold star and Paul Lafargue (a Cuban socialist who married Karl F or those workers who gave their lives Marx’ daughter). F or those who live now And, in this celebration of the 119th anniversary of the On this Day to Honor the Haymarket Martyrs first May Day, the martyrs of the Haymarket in Chicago, who gave their life for the Great International Workers’ 9/11/2001 Day in 1886, and whose memory is never forgotten every First of May, with peace and love.

9

VERM ONT SAYS BRING OUR TROOPS HOM E!

By Mary Alice Herbert The director of the area VFW Post said he thought the resolution was extremely well written, right on about the Town Meeting in Vermont happens on the first war, respectful to veterans and that he supported it fully. Tu esday of March no matter what the weather brings. Now activists in Vermont face the task of seeing that Th e "nor'easter" that day didn't keep townspeople or the legislature sets up the commission set out in the rep orters from around the world from attending resolution. m eetings in the 50 some towns where a resolution qu estioning the use of the National Guard in Iraq was Mary Alice Herbert is a resident of Putney Vermont and was on the agenda. It passed overwhelmingly in 45 of those the Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2004 election. tow ns. The resolution quoted the US Constitution which For more information on the Vermont Iraq Resolution says that Congress may call up the militia only "to and how you can present a similar resolution to your ex ecute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrection town or city government go to: www.iraqresolution.org an d repel invasions." It went on to say that our men and women are being put in harm's way in a war that po sed no threat of attack on the US by being in Iraq an d that the large number deployed there compromises Celebrate International th e capacity of local communities to respond to emergencies. It called for the legislature to set up a Labor Day commission to study the effect of Guard deployment on st rea diness here in the state and to ask the Sunday, May 1 at Noon- 5PM Co ngressional delegation to work to restore a proper ba lance between the powers of the state and the federal government over the use of the Guard. Brattleboro, Vermont W hen I spoke to move the resolution in Putney, I Town Common. sp oke about how easy it had been to collect many more th an enough signatures during January to put the resolution before the meeting. I explained that the Music, Speakers, Soap Box and

Guard had been "federalized" back in the 1980s after Haymarket Memorial th e governors of Vermont and several other states had ref used to send them to fight in Central America, another unpopular war. I quoted the pamphlet that For information call Mal at ha d been distributed before the meeting: Vermont lea ds the way in per capita deaths in Iraq. Guard and (802) 387-4060 Re serves make up 40% of the US force in Iraq and Vermont’s percentage is even higher. National Guard so ldiers are dying at rates 35% higher than other mi litary. I also told them about a friend from NY who sa id that her niece in the regular army was not worried The Fight for W orking People Shall ab out going to Iraq, because they are sending the National Guard instead. Continue M ay Day G reetings V T's National Guard had recently stated that we still ha d enough protection at home because in the last em ergency, a severe ice storm a few years ago, only 700 guardsmen had been called out. I wondered what wo uld happen in case of an accident or an attack on th e local nuclear power plant and quoted a defense de partment expert who says that the Pentagon is jeopardizing homeland security by deploying the Na tional Guard in such large numbers and lengthening th eir stays in Iraq. A young single mom whose fiancé is in training in Mississippi spoke emotionally after I sat down. When Socialist Party of W isconsin th e voice vote came it was loud and clear. There was no t one audible nay. Shingo Egi, the Japanese reporter and wh o attended the meeting in our neighboring town of Socialist Party of M etropolitan Du mmerston said, "I think I was able to tell the Japanese readers that the citizens of the US can be M ilwaukee ch aracterized as rich in variety, not just the cowboy sty le people that we might imagine reading news that co mes out from the Bush Administration"

10 discovered that black and white lumberjacks were meeting IW W CENTENNIAL separately at Alexandria By 1912, the union had about 50,000 members, C ontinued from page 7 including dockworkers, and in agriculture, textiles, logging, and mining. They were involved in around 150 The IWW was a militant union from the beginning strikes in that period. The most famous of these was the an d was not timid about taking on the employers. So it Lawrence textile strike in Massachusetts. Since the mills drew the immediate enmity of the ruling class, as a employed thousands of immigrant workers of many th reat to the status quo. IWW members were accused of nationalities, with limited knowledge of English, no one being bomb throwers and saboteurs, but generally thought a successful strike organization possible, es poused the philosophy of the “folded arms” in the especially the mill bosses. But rallies were addressed by wi thholding of their labor when the occasion called. And ethnic speakers of all these groups in their own languages, they were often effective in improving working conditions. and an amazing solidarity was forged. This strike also What they considered “sabotage”, comprised tactics of involved masses of women workers who performed slo wdowns, following rules exactly, mass sickouts--- heroically, inspiring the beautiful labor song, “Bread and pr actices which are not uncommon today in workplace Roses.” At that time, the IWW did not believe in signed struggles. For the Wobblies often favored the idea of contracts and eventually the union vanished from “striking on the job”, rather than just striking and Lawrence. The same kind of strike was prosecuted in 1913 sta rving on the picket line outside the plant and at the Paterson, NJ mills, which eventually fizzled out. wa tching the scabs do their work, unless there was a From the late 1910s to the 1930s, the IWW’s Marine go od chance of winning the more traditional strike. Transport Industrial Union, led by an African-American But the bosses were relentless and these masterless dockworker Ben Fletcher, organized mainly Black reb el workers were often jailed, beaten and sometimes longshoremen. Between 1915 and 1917, the IWW kil led in trying to wrest some dignity from the voracious Agricultural Workers Organization organized many rob ber barons of capitalism. were a thousands of agricultural workers throughout the Midwest fight-back tactic particularly in the Western States, and West, and was also heavily engaged in Canada. wh ere IWW organizers would be arrested for soap boxing in the skid rows of large cities. Many civil liberties gains BIG BILL OUSTED we re made when hundreds of members came from all over to soapbox, and got arrested packing the jails. Often While the IWW primarily eschewed electoral action in th e free speech bans would be lifted, as in Spokane in favor of industrial direct action as the best way to achieve 19 09. the new society, thousands of Wobblies did belong to the Socialist Party. The Party was enjoying considerable 1908 CONVENTION SPLIT electoral success, winning the municipal governments in a number of cities, including Milwaukee. Many good In 1908, there was a policy split (nothing new on the legislative gains were made for the people of these cities Left), which culminated at the 1908 Convention in under Socialist administrations. But these gains brought Chicago. Daniel De Leon’s doctrinaire Socialist Labor about a trend to compromise on Socialist basics to attract Pa rty group wanted to dominate the fledgling union more middle class votes, even those of small business. un der his autocratic dominance, and thus wanted that With the bad press of the capitalist media hounding the political action should be included in the policy. But the IWW, the more reformist elements of the Socialist Party felt more radical faction, led by Saint John, Trautmann and that the IWW elements in the SP were a liability for Ha ywood favored an emphasis on direct action, growing electoral success. So in 1912, Haywood was pr opaganda and strikes as the effective way forward, and recalled from the National Committee, despite pleas by opposed arbitration and political affiliation. The militants such Party luminaries as Helen Keller. His views were thus wo n and the De Leonists left in anger. Although Haywood declared incompatible with Party policy. This led to a himself and thousands of other Wobblies were Socialist major exodus of thousands of IWW members from the SP. Pa rty members then, the IWW since then has not been This became the first major schism within the Party. From affiliated with or endorsed any political party, direct my perspective, the move really hurt both the Party and ac tion being its forte. Present policy is that you’re the IWW badly and was a tragedy. The Party lost welcome in the organization whatever your personal thousands of its most militant, courageous, class- po litical or religious stance and can be active in such conscious working class members for good. The increased mo vements, but just leave your politics or anarchism or electoral successes for the Party did not happen in any religion outside the IWW union hall. great measure.

OR GANIZING STATE REPRESSION

The IWW first got on the map in labor struggles at Although the IWW’s tactics emphasized non-violence, the Go ldfield, Nevada in 1906 where for a time it ran the reaction by the government, bosses, and mobs of tow n as a de facto government. In 1909, the IWW won a “respectable citizens” were brutally violent. In 1914, Joe spectacular victory in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, at Hill (Joel Hagglund), a Swedish-American itinerant worker th e Pressed Steel Car Company which drew widespread and famous Wobbly songwriter an poet, was accused of no tice. Meanwhile, in Alexandria and Grabow, Louisiana, murder on only flimsy circumstantial evidence and was IW W poet was organizing lumberjacks executed by a firing squad in Salt Lake City in 1915. IWW an d mill workers. Big , who had been found organizer and General Executive Board member Frank innocent of a framed up murder charge in Salt Lake City Little was lynched by company thugs during a copper in 1907, went down to Louisiana to lend a hand. He Continued on page 12 11

IW W CENTENNIAL However, by 1930, the membership had shrunk to around 10,000. It was still able, however, to conduct a successful state-wide mining strike in Colorado win the late 1920s. strike at Butte, Montana. At Everett, Washington, a The IWW never gave up fighting and during the 1930s drunken mob of deputized businessmen led by Sheriff organized a number of stove factories in Cleveland with Donald McRae, attacked Wobblies on the steamship which it signed contracts and represented until the 1950s. Ve rona, killing five, with six lost in Puget Sound. Of course, all this time, Wobblies took part in the CIO Hu ndreds of Wobblies were shipped in freight cars to be organizing drives of the 1930s. Many were “two-carders”. marooned in the New Mexico desert by copper bosses They held member-ship in whatever union existed on and their vigilantes during a strike at Bisbee, Arizona. their job, but also kept up their IWW dues and always W orld War I gave the Army the opportunity to crush maintained the principles of union democracy and rank th e IWW. Although most Wobs opposed the war, the and file militancy wherever they worked. union never took an official position on it. But the With the passage of the Landrum-Griffin Act in 1959 government and employers fomented a lynch spirit to and its anti-communist affidavits to rid unions of leftist att ack the IWW. In 1919, in Centralia, Washington, leaders, the IWW lost the Cleveland metal shops. As a vig ilantes attacked the IWW hall, and when IWW member point of principle, the IWW, along with the Typographical and returning war veteran Wesley Everest shot back, he Union and United Mine Workers, refused to sign such was killed by the mob. In September, 1917, the Feds loyalty oaths, so the Cleveland shops left the Union and made simultaneous raids on 48 IWW halls around the affiliated with a more compliant one. This was a major co untry. 166 IWW activists were arrested for conspiring loss for the IWW. to hinder the draft, encourage desertion, and intimidate The IWW was at a lowest ebb in membership as the others under the new Espionage Act. 161 went on trial Sixties approached, but the Civil Rights Movement, anti- before Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1918 and all war activity and university student movements brought we re found guilty. Some had not even been members for new life to the Union. ma ny years. While on bail, Big Bill Haywood fled to the In the 1980s the IWW were successful in organizing a Soviet Union where he died in 1928, a lonely and broken large non-profit book store and warehouse operation in man. Communist Party promises to reimburse the bail Ann Arbor, Michigan, and gained a voice in its mo ney for Haywood and others were never fulfilled. management. But a few years later the top managerial Ev en after the war, the repression continued. IWW bureaucracy sold out to a for-profit operation elsewhere members were persecuted and harassed under state and and the Ann Arbor workplaces were closed. From the federal laws. A number of Wobblies were sentenced to 1990s on the Union achieved good successes in lengthy prison terms under the so-called criminal- organizing shops. sy ndicalist laws. Many foreign-born Wobblies and other In Berkeley, California, the Union has succeeded in radicals were deported under the Palmer Raids . organizing three workplaces which are now under

contract. These include two recycling plants and a fabric POST-WORLD WAR I store with almost all women employees. Portland, Oregon A nother major hit hurt the IWW as a consequence of has organized numerous non-profits and shops in the Russian Revolution. Considerable numbers of various industries, operates the Red and Black me mbers were lost to the Communists in the heady days restaurant collective and a couple of years ago at the of promise in its aftermath. Although the Union at first city’s May Day parade, 300 people marched under the wa s sympathetic, soon reality hit. The Red Labor IWW’s banner. . In the Stockton, California area close to International in Moscow urged Wobblies and other 250 independent truckers, mostly East Indian, but ra dicals to join the AFL and other “yellow unions” and including Filipinos, African-Americans and Mexicans “b ore from within”. Those kinds of tactics were joined the IWW in 2004 and have won some important dis tasteful to the IWW and something an honest rebel disputes, particularly in the payment for excess wait time co uld not countenance. Then Moscow wanted to name and reinstatement of firings. Since these truckers are who could be on the IWW General Executive Board. This “independent contractors” they are not recognized as a we nt totally counter to the IWW’s principle of union labor union under Federal labor law, but it’s surprising de mocracy; its rank and file members elect the GEB, no what can be done on an informal basis as long as strong on e else. So with the increasing top-down dictatorial rule solidarity is practiced. developing in the Soviet Union, the IWW became an Other labor struggles the Union has participated in was op ponent. Redwood Summer and the picketing of the Neptune Jade S till, despite all its adversities the IWW continued to in the Port of Oakland in late 1997, for which the IWW org anize. In 1923, its membership was at its historic earned positive recognition from the maritime unions, in highest of some 100,000 members. Then the disaster of which some of our members are two-carders. In recent “sp lititis” struck again in 1924. A bitter division years, the union has set up organizer training programs de veloped between the “Easterners” and the “Westerners” both in the US and Canada in many localities. Our ov er a number of issues. Chief among them was the role brilliant young female General Secretary-Treasurer Alexis of the General Administration, simplified as a fight Buss has played a vital role in organizing these trainings. be tween “centralists” and “decentralists”. This battle With the difficulty of going to NLRB route for recognition pla yed holy havoc for several years before it subsided. in the hostile anti-labor climate of late-stage

Continued on page 13

12 I W W CENTENNIAL neo-liberal capitalism, the IWW has brought the concept of “minority unionism” to the fore. Never mind playing around with the obstructive government restrictions on recognition. It’s possible to sign up workers in the Union, and operate informally at a workplace in solidarity direct actions to defend and advance workers rights in increasingly sweatshop conditions. Here GST Buss and veteran labor activist Staughton Lynd have conducted workshops around the country on minority unionism. This really harks back to the early days of IWW organizing when loggers would have stop-work meetings to demand lice-free mattresses in the bunk houses and decent grub at the evening meal, and win.

IWW AND WORKER CULTURE May Day greetings from all the

We would be remiss if the importance of the popular comrades in the Debs Tendency culture of the IWW wasn’t included in this article. The Saludos en este Dia del Trabajo de parte entire labor movement has enjoyed the impact of IWW songs, poetry, skits, music, art (particularly cartoon and de todos los companer@ s de la poster art), and irreverent satire, even at its own expense. Tendencia Debs. Being the free-spirited, anti-authoritarian kind of folks the Wobblies are, the juices of their cultural creativity know no www.debstendency.org parallel in the labor movement. “Solidarity Forever”, written by early Wobbly Ralph Chaplin, has become the For W orking Class Unity and Victories! virtual national anthem of the entire labor movement. Joe Hill is celebrated for both his irreverent, colorful Songs. Por la Unidad y Victoria de la Clase Poets included Covington Hall, Ralph Chaplin, Arturo Obrera! Giovannitti, and Matilda Rabinowitz. The IWW a best-seller at every public gathering where an IWW literature table is table is present. If you ever have a chance to go hear a Utah Phillips concert go hear him or buy one of his CDs. This veteran IWW sourdough knows all the old faves, and FAITH & SOCIALISM is a great story-telling raconteur to boot. By Antonio Salas THE FUTURE

We’ve been here for a century now, and raring to go on We are people who come from various religious and organize workers for the next 100. The so-called t raditions but are rooted in a common vision which affirms peace, equality, human dignity, care for “mainstream” unions in this country are shrinking rapidly and represent 13% of US workers at present. Animated, creation, and human cooperation. even panicky, discussion is going on right now for the This leads us to reject an economic system where restructuring of the AFL-CIO, but most proposals are for v alue is placed on profit over dignity and human well being, competition over cooperation and hierarchy over top-down hierarchical approaches, staying within the parameters of business unionism, supporting the Democrats mutuality and reciprocity. with even more money, and not challenging the very Therefore from our religious faith we work for existence of capitalism as a class movement. Certainly, the d emocratic socialism or what Martin Luther King called the Beloved Community. A community that recognizes core ideas expressed in the IWW Preamble are more relevant than ever. The IWW will be in the middle of all this dialogue, the sacredness of every individual and removes calling for a class-conscious, rank-and-file controlled p rivilege based on class, race, gender, sexuality, and democratic labor movement, empowering women, people of d isability. A community that embraces nonviolence and color, and sexual and other minorities within the working coercion as a more perfect way of organizing our c ommon life and one more consistent with a class to be fully participatory components within it. And above all, working to end the great scourge of capitalism. At democratic vision. A community that produces for the the Seattle anti-WTO globalist demonstrations in 1999, the h uman needs of all and not for the private enrichment IWW contingent carried a banner, reading: “Capitalism o f the very few. A community where justice and peace Cannot Be Reformed”. Amen! shall kiss. If you are an SP member in good standing and Harry Siitonen is a member of the Bay Area Socialist Party and i nterested in joining the commission or the listserve, was a past General Secretary-Treasurer of the IWW. (For c ontact Antonio Salas, Convener, at information on the IWW, contact: www.iww.org or Write to: [email protected] or 510-663-6303 x1. IWW, POB 13476, Philadelphia, PA 19101.)

13 NEW S FROM SP USA LOCALS

BAY AREA LOCAL (CALIFORNIA) TOM M OONEY LOCAL (W ESTERN M ASS) Lo cal members remain actively involved as labor and Issues of workers' rights, women's rights, and the US campus organizers within the Oakland Unified School occupation of Iraq have been dominating the work of our Dis trict, UC Berkeley and Cal State Hayward. We local for the past few months. One of our members has con tinue our involvement with the Alameda County Peace been working with the union of teaching assistants as and Freedom Party and FairVote/CFER (Californians For they resist the demands of the University of electoral Reform) and participate regularly in post-election Massachusetts for further cutbacks in wages and ant i-war demonstrations and rallies in the area. Local benefits. Due to lies and intimidation by management, mem bers recently participated at the Defend Oakland the union lost the election, but a lot of education and Pub lic Education rally in Oakland. solidarity occurred during the organizing process. Right The Local resumed its active membership and now, we are helping to rally community support for the par ticipation in the Socialist Unity Network, a coalition of nurses at the local Franklin County hospital who are San Francisco Bay Area-based socialist organizations currently going through tough contract renegotiation (Com mittees of Correspondence for Democracy and sessions. Soc ialism, Democratic Socialists of America, International At the meeting with the nurses, we encouraged them to Socialist Organization, Socialist Party, and Solidarity). join us for our International Women's Day rally and SUN recently held a public forum -- Crisis in Public speak-out on the Greenfield Town Common, and to Edu cation. Speakers at the well-attended event were Peter connect their oppressive working conditions to the assault Cam ejo on how progressive taxation for California would on women's rights in general. Unfortunately, this aspect solve budget crisis and provide money for education; Bob of our series of IWD events got cancelled due to miserable Man del of the Oakland Education Association on the weather conditions, but we plan to stay in touch for redi stribution of corporate wealth to pay for schools future actions. Another positive outcome of our IWD inst ead of closing, chartering or privatizing schools; and, organizing was the production of a brochure that Kathryn Lybarger of the UC Berkeley Labor Coalition on describes the mission how UC Berkeley has money but won't give raises to staff and how the Chancellor is planning to open a charter PENNSYLVANIA elem entary school. SUN's mission is to build and promote The Socialist Party of Pennsylvania will be holding its dem ocratic socialism through educational forum and annual conference this year on Saturday, May 7th, in the activities in the Bay Area. historic city of Philadelphia. We will be meeting at The O n the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade several local Ethical Society, which is located at 1906 S. Rittenhouse mem bers participated in the March to Defend Women's Square, from 9:00am till 5:00pm. Low cost housing for Hea lth and Rights in San Francisco. This march was a those wishing to attend can be arranged through the counter- demonstration to an anti-choice extremist's Greater Philadelphia Local. plan ned march in the city Francisco against women's We are holding our conference in unity with other hea lth and rights that same morning. progressive groups from across the state. The theme of In coordination with other Southern California Local this year’s conference is “Unity of the Left.” We will kick members, Bay Area members helped organize a off the weekend on Friday with a rally organized by suc cessful and memorable event to honor the ongoing Solidarity. On Saturday there will be joint panels on con tributions of Maggie Phair to peace, justice and Socialist Values : Peace, War and Imperialism; Socialist dem ocratic socialism. Values : Gender Identity; and Socialist Values : Electoral For more information on the local, please contact Politics & Community Action. Ant onio Salas, chair, at [email protected] or visit our web site at www.sp-usa.org/basp/. VERM ONT

The Brattleboro Area local is now meeting at 2:00 pm the CONNECTICUT first Sunday of every month at the Common Ground on On March 12, members of the SP met in West Hartford Elliot St. in Brattleboro. Info.: [email protected] Con necticut and organized a Central/Eastern Con necticut Local of the Socialist Party USA. The Local endorsed March 19th action in Hartford and will meet on the first Saturday of every month. The Local’s email add ress is: [email protected] Socialist Party

NEW JERSEY of The Northern New Jersey Local has been active in anti- recr uitment activism, holding regular pickets outside the Paterson New Jersey “Army of One” office and organizing Southern California an anti-recruitment conference at William Paterson University with North Jersey Anti-Racist Action. Poca a poco se anda lejos In formation on the ongoing Northern New Jersey cam paigns can be found at the Local’s website: 2617 So. Hauser Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016 www .njsocialistparty.org/northnj/.

14 SOCIALIST PARTY USA NATIONAL DIRECTORY

CA LIFORNIA M ASSACHUSETTS Salvador Allende Local South W est PA Socialist Party Soc ialist Party of California State Executive C om m ittee PO Box 37533 c/o 4618 C arroll St. Sta te Executive C om m ittee c/o 43 Taylor Hill Rd. Raleigh, NC 27627 Pittsburgh, PA 15224 2617 S. Hauser Blvd. M ontague, M A 01351 Art Young Local Los Angeles, C A 90016 G reater Boston Socialist Party PO Box 217 Socialist Party of Texas Richlands, NC 28574 Bay Area Socialist Party PO Box 541468 State Executive C om m ittee

P.O . Box 22822 W altham , M A 02454 PO Box 2640 O a kland, C A 94609 OHIO Tom M ooney Local Austin, TX 78768 ww w.sp-usa.org/basp c/o 43 Taylor Hill Rd. State Executive C om m ittee Socialist Party of the Rio Socialist Party of So. Calif. M ontague, M A 01351 c/o PO Box 204 G rande Valley/ Partido 261 7 S. Hauser Blvd. Yellow Springs, O H 45387 Socialista del Valle Los Angeles, C A 90016 M ICHIG AN PM B 117 Northwest OH Socialist Party Socialist Party of M ichigan E. Ruben Torres Sr. Suite A16 CONNECTICUT State Executive C om m ittee c/o G eoff Braasch Brownsville, TX 78526 Soc ialist Party of Central CT PO Box 3285 3222 M iddlesex Dr. # D SPC entralC T@ gm ail.com Kalam azoo, M I 49003 Toledo, O H 43606 VERM ONT

860 .423.9776 G reater Brattleboro SP Kalam azoo Socialist Party OREG ON PO Box 3285 c/o 71 W inchester Rd. COLORADO Socialist Party of Oregon Putney, VT 05346 Kalam azoo, M I 49003 State Executive C om m ittee Socialist Party of Colorado Sta te Executive C om m ittee Detroit Socialist Party PO Box 5633 VIRG INIA c/o 2625 Pine St. PO Box 19221 Portland, O R 97228 Social Dem . Party of Virginia Boulder, C O 80302 Detroit, M I 48219 Clackam as Co. Socialist Party State Executive C om m ittee Detroit.m i-socialist.org c/o 251 Finchingfield C t. M etro Denver Socialist Party c/o 16 SW M onticello Dr. Sterling, VA 20165 c/o 9624 G rapeC ourt Lake O swego, O R 97035 NEW JERSEY Thornton, C O 80229 Socialist Party of New Jersey Helen Keller M em orial Local 720 -929-9185 W ASHING TON State Executive C om m ittee c/o 3375 NW Fifth Ave. fuic hi@ hotm ail.com Socialist Party of W ashington PO Box 8622 O ntario, O R 97035 State Executive C om m ittee Saddle Brook, NJ 07663 PO Box 656 FLORIDA Lane County Local www.njsocialistparty.org M ountlake Terrace, W A 98043 Socialist Party of Florida c/o 1555 W . 18th Ave. # 6

Sta te Executive C om m ittee Socialist Party of No. Jersey Eugene, O R 97402 c/o 1706 B Lake Ave. c/o PO Box 86 W ISCONSIN M ultnom ah County Local Pan am a C ity, FL 32401 Rochelle Park, NJ 07662 Socialist Party of W isconsin c/o 6035 N. G reeley Ave. State Executive C om m ittee Jac ksonville Socialist Party So. Jersey Socialist Party Portland, O R 97217 1001 East Keefe c/o 13938 M anowar Ln. c/o Box 543 M ilwaukee, W I 53212 Jac ksonville Beach, FL 32250 Newfield, NJ 08344 PENNSYLVANIA Socialist Party of Pennsylvania Socialist Party of M ilwaukee c/o 1011 East Keefe ILL INOIS NEW YORK State Executive C om m ittee Illin ois Socialist Party c/o 102 Rachel Ln. M ilwaukee, W I 53212 G reater NYC Socialist Party Sta te Executive C om m ittee c/o 339 Lafayette St. # 303 C oatesville. PA 18320 Socialist Party of So.Cen. W I c/o PO Box 578398 New York, NY 10012 www.sp-usa.org/sppa/ c/o 3206 G regory St.

C hicago, IL 60657 www.newyorksocialists.org M adison, W I 53711 Berks County Socialist Party

Ch icago Socialist Party Central NY Socialist Party c/o 273 S. Fourth St. PO Box 578398 PO Box 35113 Ham burg, PA 19526 NATIONAL OFFICE C h icago, IL 60657 University Station Socialist Party USA Philadelphia Socialist Party Syracuse, NY 13235 339 Lafayette St. # 303 c/o 2211 Bainbridge St. IOW A New York, NY 10012 Philadelphia, PA 19146 Iowa Socialist Party NORTH CAROLINA (212) 982-4586 www/sp-usa.org/natl-office/ State Executive C om m ittee Socialist Party of North Carolina Johnstown Socialist Party

PO Box 924 State Executive C om m ittee c/o 331 Theatre Dr. # 1-B4 Iow a C ity, IA 52244 PO Box 37533 Johnstown, PA 19526 Raleigh, NC 27627

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